Kammadhenu: A South Indian and Sri Lankan sojourn
How does a restaurant gain a cult following in a market as oversaturated as Newtown’s? Kammadhenu is a perfect case study. It’s so popular that there are two of them on the same street within less than a kilometre of each other.
171 King Street is the original Kammadhenu. The menu takes a detour from more typical, rich, spicy North Indian fare, although the kitchen still whips up above-average butter chickens and rogan joshes to please the less adventurous. Kammadhenu concentrates on the flavours of tropical South India and Sri Lanka. In this part of the subcontinent, the cuisine is markedly different. Curries are less heavy on butter, cream and chilli, relying instead on coconut products as a base flavour, and pepper as a principal spice. Rather uniquely, Kammadhenu also serves up a selection of Malaysian dishes like prawn sambal and chilli crab – not so unusual when you consider how deeply Malaysia’s Indian populace has influenced their local cuisine.
The space itself is unremarkable apart from its unsubtle purple-painted walls, but once the place gets going, there’s a lively, almost rowdy atmosphere to be enjoyed. The outlet at 377 King Street is considerably more sedate.
Most of the regulars come here for the dosa – paper thin, slightly sour, oversized lentil pancakes rolled around a filling of spiced potato, meat or cheese and served with spicy sauces. The Kammadhenu dosas are particularly impressive –- perfectly crisp, judiciously spiced and at $9 for a dosa packed with chunks of lamb or chicken, a genuine bargain.
Also of note are the string hoppers – fine rice noodles that ingeniously soak up the accompanying curry gravy and fiery coconut chutney. The fish curry goes down a treat with a Sri Lankan Sinha beer, and as with every worthy Indian restaurant, there’s a generous selection of vegetarian dishes. You'll also find a deliciously gooey Malaysian sago pudding on the dessert menu.
So how does this modest little eatery keep the Newtown crowd happy, and attract its fair share of non-locals to the table, too? Well, it’s dared to be a little different by showcasing less-known South Indian dishes, which all the locals now know are equally as delicious as their northern counterparts. Secondly, despite its massive popularity boost, it’s remained ridiculously good value. It’s the kind of place you could happily eat out at once a week -- and yet every time your waiter strides up with that super-sized golden dosa on a silver platter, you can’t help but be impressed.
HelloMetro Tip: Kammadhenu also have larger, fancier digs across the harbour at Neutral Bay. The venue is complete with a bar, function rooms and live music on the weekends.
Posted by Fiona Davies
